--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/richer-and-fairer-new-brunswick-income-trends-1976-2019/" title: "Richer and Fairer: New Brunswick Income Trends, 1976-2019" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T10:22:41+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T10:22:41+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "after-tax income" - "Gini coefficient" - "income inequality" - "income trends" - "Market Basket Measure" - "median income" - "New Brunswick" - "poverty" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "NB" research_theme: - "Economic Well-Being" - "Regional Economic Development" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Richer and Fairer: New Brunswick Income Trends, 1976-2019 Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/richer-and-fairer-new-brunswick-income-trends-1976-2019/ # Richer and Fairer: New Brunswick Income Trends, 1976-2019 [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2021-06-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Bonsall, Nettie. 2021. “Richer and Fairer: New Brunswick Income Trends, 1976-2019.” CSLS Research Report 2021-06. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/richer-and-fairer-new-brunswick-income-trends-1976-2019/ ## Author: - Nettie Bonsall Atlantic Institute for Policy Research, University of New Brunswick ## Report 2021-06 October 2021 131 pages ## Related research [Productivity Growth and Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) September 2003 | Report 2003-06 | 70 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-growth-and-poverty-reduction-in-developing-countries/) [China’s Productivity Performance and Its Impact on Poverty in the Transition Period Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) September 2003 | Report 2003-07 | 81 pages](https://csls.ca/research/chinas-productivity-performance-and-its-impact-on-poverty-in-the-transition-period/) [The Canada-Atlantic Canada Manufacturing Productivity Gap: A Detailed Analysis Andrew Sharpe December 2003 | Report 2003-08 | 127 pages](https://csls.ca/research/the-canada-atlantic-canada-manufacturing-productivity-gap-a-detailed-analysis/) [Economy Security in Nova Scotia Lars Osberg, Andrew Sharpe July 2008 | Report 2008-05 | 66 pages](https://csls.ca/research/economy-security-in-nova-scotia/) [The Economic Crisis through the Lens of Economic Wellbeing Jean-François Arsenault, Andrew Sharpe August 2009 | Report 2009-06 | 47 pages](https://csls.ca/research/the-economic-crisis-through-the-lens-of-economic-wellbeing/) [Measuring Economic Security in Insecure Times: New Perspectives, New Events, and the Index of Economic Well-being Lars Osberg December 2009 | Report 2009-12 | 47 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-economic-security-in-insecure-times-new-perspectives-new-events-and-the-index-of-economic-well-being/) [Economic Security in an Index of Economic Well-being: The CSLS Approach to Economic Security Helen Boss Heslop December 2009 | Report 2009-13 | 30 pages](https://csls.ca/research/economic-security-in-an-index-of-economic-well-being-the-csls-approach-to-economic-security/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Jean-François Arsenault June 2009 | Report 2009-04 | 127 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing/) [A Comparison of Inequality and Living Standards in Canada and the United States Using an Expanded Measure of Economic Well-Being Edward Wolff, Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, Selçuk Eren, Andrew Sharpe, Elspeth Hazell January 2012 | Report 2012-01 | 67 pages](https://csls.ca/research/a-comparison-of-inequality-and-living-standards-in-canada-and-the-united-states-using-an-expanded-measure-of-economic-well-being/) [Measuring Economic Insecurity in Rich and Poor Nations Lars Osberg, Andrew Sharpe May 2012 | Report 2012-03 | 33 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-economic-insecurity-in-rich-and-poor-nations/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This report provides a detailed analysis of income trends in New Brunswick over the past four decades. Although income was much lower in New Brunswick than at the national level between 1981 and 2019, the gap narrowed over that period thanks to stronger growth in income in New Brunswick. By 2019, the size of the income gap had fallen to 23 per cent based on real GDP per capita, to 12 per cent based on personal income (which includes government transfers), and to 10 per cent based on personal disposable income (which includes government transfers and tax). The income gap between New Brunswick and Canada also shrank as measured per economic unit (economic families and unattached individuals) between 1976 and 2019. From 2000 to 2019, a period of strong real income growth in both New Brunswick and Canada, the gap between the rich and poor in New Brunswick also narrowed, as after-tax income inequality decreased and poverty rates fell. On the other hand, the wealth gap between Canada and New Brunswick widened between 1999 and 2019. Ce rapport fournit une analyse détaillée des tendances de revenu au Nouveau-Brunswick au cours des quatre dernières décennies. Bien que le revenu ait été nettement plus faible au Nouveau-Brunswick qu’à l’échelle nationale entre 1981 et 2019, l’écart s’est resserré au cours de cette période grâce à une croissance plus forte du revenu dans la province. En 2019, l’écart de revenu avait diminué à 23 % selon le PIB réel par habitant, à 12 % selon le revenu personnel (qui comprend les transferts gouvernementaux) et à 10 % selon le revenu personnel disponible (qui comprend les transferts gouvernementaux et les impôts). L’écart de revenu entre le Nouveau-Brunswick et le Canada s’est également réduit lorsqu’il est mesuré par unité économique (familles économiques et personnes seules) entre 1976 et 2019. De 2000 à 2019, une période de forte croissance du revenu réel tant au Nouveau-Brunswick qu’au Canada, l’écart entre les riches et les pauvres au Nouveau-Brunswick s’est également resserré, l’inégalité du revenu après impôt ayant diminué et les taux de pauvreté ayant reculé. En revanche, l’écart de richesse entre le Canada et le Nouveau-Brunswick s’est creusé entre 1999 et 2019. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2021-06-1.pdf)